New Delhi, October 3
A day after Human Resource Development Minister Kapil Sibal assured flexibility to the IIT system, leaving their salary structures unchanged for the moment, the IIT faculty federation petitioned Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on their pay concerns. The HRD Ministry had yesterday cited financial constraints for their inability to address salary-related concerns of the faculty.
Members of the federation also sought PM’s intervention for the institutionalisation of HRD ministry’s “flexibility” talk so that the process of fresh appointments and promotions of IIT teachers, to be eventually evolved within the IIT system, can run smoothly in the future.
“We conveyed our apprehensions on the restrictions on the flexible cadre system of the IITs, the need to have a mandate from the HRD ministry that such flexibility would be retained and the need also for an effective pay package for the IIT faculty at entry level,” a federation member told The Tribune after a meeting with TKA Nair, Principal Secretary to the PM. With today’s meeting, the federation made it clear that their concerns remained to be fully addressed.
The faculty in fact even sought from the PM enhanced funding for HRD Ministry, which has been referring to financial constraints in discussions on the need to better the pay packages of IIT faculty. The IIT teachers have been seeking effective entry packages (right now an assistant professor gets Rs 26,000 at entry along with five increments which the respective IITs can offer on performance basis). They have also been asking for an academic grade pay of Rs 10,000 for associate professors and Rs 11,000 for professors (instead of Rs 9,500 and Rs 10,500 under the recent government notification).
Besides the above-stated concerns, the faculty also mentioned in the meeting the need for a direct component for research grant to IITs. “All this is important if good faculty is to be attracted,” said the federation members.
Earlier during the day, the federation met IIT directors, who said the pay scales would be considered “in a relaxed manner” as advised by the HRD Minister.
Following a four-hour-long meeting,
the directors decided to constitute two committees - one to recommend criteria for promotion of professor from academic grade pay of Rs 10,500 to senior grade of Rs 12,000 and the other to evolve an innovative performance related incentive scheme approved by the Cabinet.
Sanjay Dhande, director, IIT Kanpur, said the first committee would report back to the directors in six weeks and the second one in two months. Discussions were also held on ways to attract young talent, medical facilities for retired IIT faculty and more seats for foreign students in IITs, he said. “We had a very fruitful discussion with the directors who agreed to take the issues of flexibility and pay concerns to the Board of Governors of IITs and the IIT Council,” said M. Thenemozi, federation head. The IIT council will meet in the Capital on October 19 to discuss related issues, lest the IIT faculty renews its
agitation.
